Wind knocks out power, strands elevator riders

City and Township firefighters were busy on Friday morning dealing with downed power lines as strong winds hit Langley.

"The wind created some excitement for us this morning," said assisstant fire chief Pete Methot at the Langley City firehall.

A power line knocked down near Eastleigh Crescent and Glover Road cut off power to thousands of City residents, Methot said. The City firefighters had to help rescue people from three to four stuck elevators before noon.

Meanwhile Langley Townsip firefighters were dealing with power lines down in the 24600 block of 56th Avenue, on Rawlison Crescent near Fort Langley, and in the 6700 block of 238th Street.

The windstorm began early in the morning and wind gusts of over 50 km/h at the Vancouver Airport were still being recorded by late morning, according to Environment Canada.